Tag: fall

Honouring change, the time just after the Harvest season and the dawn of Winter. Samhain, Halloween, a Celtic festival where we honour the dead and connect with our ancestors and spirits. May 1st, the Day when the veils of the other worlds are the thinnest and our intuition and remembrance are at the for front. Remembering and reconnecting with that part of our lost selves. A time to reflect on our season of harvest, what came to fruition and bared fruit? What sacred seeds will you bring into this new season of hibernation and contemplation? Winter is slowly upon us here in the Southern Hemisphere and I am sitting in the void of what is, what has been, and what is being seeded.

Ritual roots our vast beings and connects us closer to our communal intentions. So today on this day of honouring and remembrance I honour the young maiden I once was, I greet the mother of all births I am becoming, I call to the maga and crone to bare gifts of insight and deep knowing.

A passage from my journal “Seeds Of Remembrance”

She journeyed far for this feeling. Something engrained deep within drew her to the very place she is. This dance in the in between but seeking a place to land. A dream once dreamt and a vision so vast, her calling pulling her soul for a dance. So young her maiden vessel but how ancient her soul had become. Living in a world of parallel universes, always dreaming of what is to come and longing to travel to far away lands.

Which route truly resonated to her souls calling? Hidden and enclosed to the powerful force of the outside world she became curious. She was born into the wolf pack and initiated as the leader. But soon after her calling grew stronger, it was time to leave the pack.
Now turning to a life led by curiosity and her seeds of remembrance, she is able to journey outside of her boundaries. Like a gift from the goddess grotto she is now able to drum to the earths heart beat. This art of flight opened the unseen within. As she stepped into her radiant orb, she was swept off her feet only to be led by trust. Months go by and a new sensation grew stemming from the soles of her feet. Roots had begun to penetrate out from beneath her and her sense of home pulled at her wild soul. An unfamiliar feeling began to grow and she new it was time to land. Seeds need soil in order to grow and so it was she did too. A new place to begin that stemmed deep from within, she is following her calling and gathering her new wolves in.

May this post offer wisdom and insight to accessing your sacred seeds within and celebrate this beautiful day of entering a new season!

This morning I sit, my mind meandering down old memories. I awake to the crisp dewy morning as I watch the steam rise from the earth and my first yawn blow out billows of smoke. The seasons are changing and days are growing colder. The dawn of Autumn, the cusp of winter. A Season for reflection, to harvest. How powerful and heart opening this journey is. Be raw, be the wounded soldier within just for a moment, but do remember how grateful moments like these are. A time to honour the seasons within and without.

What if instead of setting our intentions every year in January, we had this season of reflection, Autumn, to firmly set these goals in motion? In this cycle, we are supposed to reflect on ourselves, let what needs to fall fall back into the earth. Trees and plants spread their seeds, so why don’t we? If we could sit with this letting go of the old and reflect on what we would like to bring into this new cycle we will forever be growing.

How to welcome the change in seasons this Autumn?

Light a Candle

Tis the season for the sweet smell of burning bees wax! Lighting a candle also helps to call yourself present. I love to light candles as the days grown colder and darker.

2. Create your sacred space

What would it feel like to be cradled? Create that warm, nourishing space for yourself and go there from time to time to reflect and be with the wisdom within. My scared space changes from time to time and I almost enjoy creating it the most. I roll out my felted rug, gather my journals, books, pillows, blankets, sacred objects…

3. Journal

When you have settled into your sacred space, pull out your journal. What is alive in you at the moment? Write whatever arises down…sit with that a moment and play with creatively writing what “harvest…letting go…inward…” means to you. You may be called to reflect on your last season cycles, writing everything from emotions to events. After letting go of the old stories, write down your new intentions for the following seasons. Journaling for me is medicine, it is a straight portal to the wisdom that lies beneath our bones. Come back to this as often as you like.

4. Nourish

As the day grow colder, our bodies are needing more nurturing and warmth. Tea is sacred in this season and there is something about listening to the tea kettle blow and the crackle of fire. Herbs like, oatstraw, nettle, sage, rose, ginger, tulsi, linden and many more are just a few that I brew for nourishment. Tea is always your best friend and provides the mind, body, and spirit with everything you need at exactly the right time. Slow cooked meals are also vital as the day grow darker. Onions, leeks, roots, spices, broths, seaweeds, oils, beans are what is usually stewing in the kitchen for me. Most importantly, listen to your body and go slow! Enjoy slow meals with long mingling chatter with friends and family by the fire!

5. Gather

Make time to check up with each other, to hold each other, to laugh with one another, to tell stories and sing songs. As much as this season is an inward one, community is key! My spirit is always lifted after a beautiful gathering with friends and family sharing home cooked food! Create a gathering, whether is be a sister circle, a men craft night, or a shared potluck!

Enjoy the nourishment and sweet tenderness of fall and may all beings be blessed and honour their blessings!

I have been craving the cozy comfort food, the smell of wood burning, and the frosted windows! I have been hibernating for a while due t0 family fall outs and teenage stress overload. Not a fun combo! Well anyways, a couple weeks ago I went down to the Carpinteria farm house (the Goob) and helped Maddie with a project. while doing these fall inspired photographs, I snapped away at things that crossed my path during the shoot. From biscuit the chicken strutting the stairs to pinecones nestled in a Chumash stone. Each photo from this series brings warm -fire crackling feelings. Enjoy!

I was scanning through my recent photos from this weekend, and came across some I forgot to post. Every Friday morning my old school, Santa Barbara Middle School, had a tradition of waking up at 6:45 in the morning to start your day of with the salty sea and the deep orange sunrise. Those who were brave enough become the polar bears who bathed themselves in the basking sunrise while the waves surpassed their neck lines. I was one of them. Last Friday I decided to relive my adventurous middle school days and see the threshold my body could possibly take. My sister, Ruby, is a polar bear at heart and always craved the frivolous waters. Spencer came as a newbie, but became hooked as he dove into the peaking sunrise and the refreshing sea. My friend, teacher, and dearest soul is the brains behind this madness, John. John lives by the words “seize the day”, and will always keep it true to heart. This is what we did that frosty Friday morning, we seized the day with the sea, sunrise, laughter, goosebumps, sandy toes, hot chocolate, and dreadful seaweed. And to our surprise, at that very time we were racing to the cold waters, Autumn was officially at place. For those who want a refreshing day and a new start to their season, go take a dip in cold water! I have done this in lakes, swamps, creeks, rivers, bath tubs, and the ocean! Here are some photos from my sunrise swim…

I have conquered yet another roll of expired 35mm film and here are the results. My favorite kind of living is to live by and with mother nature. It is a healer, and a world of new discoveries. This year my resolution is to explore and seek what the grassy mountains and pokey pine needles have to share with me. A couple weekends ago Spencer and I went up to a local campground, El Capitan, and lived simply. We packed up the Volvo and headed for the sea. Our dinner consisted of glorious leafy greens and edible flowers with some salty pesto pasta. While Spencer made the fire I assembled each of us, caramel chocolate banana boats. They were so delicious! It was the best feeling to be with your loved one out in nature, comforted by his bear hugs. My daily does of advice for today is to go out and explore! Go climb a tree or take a gander in the woods 🙂

Another sequence of photos that I took with the same roll was at a beautiful farm house in Carpenteria, the Goob. Spencer’s brother Trevor and his girlfriend Maddie live there along with some other rad house mates. Maddie is a dear friend of mine, and a groovy gal. She invited Spencer and I to camp out at the house and consume a spiced filled supper. Maddie made our taste buds burst with all the spices and yummy textures that our dinner consisted of. Later that night we roasted cored apples, that we hand picked, stuffed with coconut/cinnamon goodness. It was the perfect evening! I awoke to Spencer racing out for a surf meet, but peacefully got up to the kitty cats stretching and the chickens pecking at compost. Check out Maddies delicious new food blog, Fennel&Thyme !